UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE  THORNDIKE  COLLEGE 
ENTRANCE  TESTS 

IN  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


COMPILED  BY 

J.  V.  BREITWIESER 
Associate  Professor  of  Education 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   PRESS 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

January,   1922 


THE  THORNDIKE  COLLEGE 
ENTRANCE  TESTS 

IN   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


COMPILED  BY 

J.  V.  BREITWIESER 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRESS 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

January,  1922 


THE  THORNDIKE  COLLEGE  ENTRANCE  TESTS 
IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

On  January  22,  1921,  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  students 
took  the  Thorndike  college  entrance  examination  for  high  school  students. 
This  examination  was  given  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Jesse  D.  Burks,  assisted 
by  a  special  committee  consisting  of  Professors  Brown,  Tolman,  and  Breit- 
wieser. 

The  test  required  about  three  and  a  half  hours'  time  for  each  student. 
It  consists  of  a  combination  of  so-called  general  intelligence  tests  and  a  test 
on  high  school  subject  matter  information.  There  has  also  been  an  attempt 
to  include  tests  that  will  measure  the  ability  of  the  student  to  do  the  kind 
of  study  needed  for  the  successful  carrying  forward  of  college  work,  such  as 
the  ability  to  record  the  important  facts  in  a  passage  of  reading  matter  and 
to  formulate  generalization.  A  brief  analysis  of  the  test  is  shown  herewith. 
A  total  score  of  639  points  is  possible  if  every  question  is  answered  correctly 
and  if  every  exercise  is  properly  done.  The  possible  points  are  classified 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  information  called  for  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  information  is  recorded.  It  is  obvious  that  there  will  be  some  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  the  accuracy  of  this  classification,  but  the  tables  in  a  general 
way  describe  the  tests  and  the  distribution  of  score  points. 

ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENT  OF  THORNDIKE  COLLEGE 

ENTRANCE  EXAMINATIONS 
Part  I  Number  points  possible 

Test  1.     Following  directions 5 

Test  2.     Sentence  arrangement 10 

Test  3.     Arithmetic  mechanics 8 

Test  4.     Arithmetic  problems 20 

Test  5.     General  information 10 

Test  6.     Synonym-antonym 20       (All  of 

Test  7.     Judgment 5  miscellaneous 

TestS.     Number  completion 10     content) 

Test  9.     Association  of  ideas 20 

Test  10.  Observation  (largest  and  smallest  num- 
ber)       9  * 

Test  11.  .Statements— truth  or  falsity 8 

Test  12.  Syllogisms 8 

Test  13.  Memory  of  drawings  and  numbers 20 

Total         153 

A78715 


NUMBER  POINTS  POSSIBLE 
Part  II 


Hist., 
Civ. 
Biog- 
raphy 

Physics, 
Mechan- 
ics, 
Chem. 

Math. 

Botany 
and 
Physi- 
ology 

Law 

Fine 

Arts 

Miscel- 
laneous 

1A.  Comprehension 
(Reading)  

18 

IB.  Comprehension 
(Reading)  

18 

2      Sentence  completion. 

36 

3.     Drawing  

4 

4.     Association  of  ideas 
(drawings)           .  .  . 

16 

5.     Association  of  ideas 
(drawings)     

16 

6      Algebraic  substitut'ns 

20 

7.     General  information.  .  . 
8.     General  information 
(truth  or  falsity  of 
statement)  

48 

40 

48 

42 

27 

12 

30 

3 

Total  
Total  points  for  Part  II 
378 

Part  III 
1A.  Comprehension 
(Reading) 

84 
27 

92 

42 

27 

12 

30 

91 

IB.  Comprehension 
(Reading) 

27 

2.     Sentence  completion. 

18 

36 

Total 

45 

27 

36 

Total  for  Part  III,  108 
Summary  of  3  parts  : 
Part  I  

153 

£art  II 

84 

92 

42 

27 

12 

30 

91 

Part  III 

45 

27 

36 

Total  of  points  
Per  cent  of  whole  test........ 

129 
20% 

119 
19% 

42 

6% 

27 

4% 

12 

2% 

30 

5% 

280 

44% 

PARTIAL  REPORT 

A  partial  report  of  the  gross  results  of  this  test  was  submitted  by  Dr. 
Burks.  Its  chief  general  points  were:  (1)  the  quality  of  entering  students  in 
the  University  of  California  is  as  high  as  that  of  other  institutions;  (2)  the 
test  is  useless  for  those  who  can  not  use  the  English  language  readily;  (3) 
the  women  made  grades  slightly  lower  than  those  a'ttained  by  the  men; 
(This  difference,  however,  was  not  marked).  (4)  a  distribution  table  of  the 
grades  by  classes.  The  present  examination  was  considered  as  a  preliminary 
experiment  to  see  whether  or  not  examinations  of  this  kind  are  practical 
in  the  University  of  California. 

A  test  or  examination  of  this  kind  may  be  of  the  greatest  value  if  it 
makes  possible  a  fairly  reliable  prediction  of  the  student's  success  or  failure 
in  college  work,  for  if  the  test  is  reliable,  certain  students  might  be  eliminated 
before  a  whole  term's  cost  and  teaching  energy  is  wasted  on  them,  or  special 
efforts  might  be  made  to  help  them  solve  their  difficulties. 

PLAN  OF  PRESENT  STUDY 

The  final  grades  in  their  college  courses  of  those  who  took  the  Thorndike 
tests  became  available  in  June,  1921,  for  the  calculation  of  correlations  with 
the  test  scores.  At  the  suggestion  of  Dean  H.  R.  Hatfield,  the  sub-com- 
mittee (Brown,  Tolman,  and  Breitwieser)  undertook  a  further  study  of 
these  more  complete  data,  with  a  view  to  getting  information  on  the  following 
points : 

1.  The  general  distribution  curve  of  the  freshman  test  scores 

and  the  place  of  failing  freshmen  in  that  distribution. 

2.  A  general  correlation  of  freshman  test  scores  and  academic 

grades. 

3.  Some  investigation  of  the  influence  of  age  and  sex. 

4.  The  distribution  of  scores  for  students  registered  in  the 

several  colleges  of  the  University. 

5.  The  records  of  students  from  several  high  schools  compared 

with  the  records  of  those  students  as  summarized  by 
the  Recorder  for  the  committee  on  schools,  together 
with  the  study  of  a  group  of  graduates  of  smaller  high 
schools. 

6.  A  detailed  study  of  the  records  of  a  group  of  freshmen 

who  scored  lowest  in  the  tests  together  with  a  de- 
tailed study  of  the  records  of  those  freshmen  who 
made  the  poorest  record  in  college.  (This  would  have 
required  a  detailed  case  study  and  beyond  the  mere 
recording  of  stated  cause  of  withdrawal,  the  college 
from  which  withdrawn,  etc.,  nothing  definite  was 
done  on  this  item.) 


This  plan  was  submitted  to  Dean  Hatfield,  April  30,  1921.  Professor 
Breitwieser  is  largely  responsible  for  the  final  form  in  which  this  material 
is  presented.  He  had  the  clerical  services  of  Frederick  J.  Adams  in  the 
statistical  computations.  The  copying  of  the  records,  the  calculation  of  the 
medians,  per  cents,  and  coefficients  of  correlation  required  more  time  and 
labor  than  may  be  obvious  from  this  report. 

A  review  of  the  earlier  report  revealed  the  fact  that  the  student  could 
not  be  depended  on  for  a  statement  of  his  standing  in  the  University.  The 
first  partial  report  accepted  the  student's  statement  as  to  his  standing.  It 
was  found  that  some  students  had  classified  themselves  as  "freshmen" 
just  because  they  were  "entering  students"  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they 
often  had  one  or  more  semester's  advanced  standing  to  their  credit.  The 
data  to  be  comparable  should  deal  with  the  "entering  freshmen"  only  as 
a  group. 

In  the  report  submitted  herewith,  all  records  have  been  compared  with 
the  Recorder's  data,  ages  were  checked  against  the  date  of  birth,  in  fact 
every  effort  was  made  to  use  as  reliable  data  as  possible.  No  conclusions 
are  more  valid  than  the  reliability  of  the  data  upon  which  they  are  based. 
Where  the  results  vary  somewhat  from  those  submitted  by  Dr.  Burks,  the 
difference  is  due  to  the  fact  that  a  more  careful  selection  of  data  has  been 
made,  and  that  in  some  cases  additional  records  were  available. 

THE  STUDENTS  EXAMINED 

Foreign  students  present  certain  statistical  difficulties,  for  in  a  test 
of  this  kind  they  are  at  a  decided  disadvantage.  It  must,  however,  be  re- 
membered that  they  are  also  at  a  disadvantage  in  our  class  work,  and  it  may 
be  that  this  test  presents  a  measure  of  this  disadvantage.  This  group  with 
their  records  was  segregated  and  it  is  not  included  in  the  general  results. 
Only  those  foreign  born  students  who  had  records  of  previous  successful 
experience  in  English-speaking  secondary  schools  were  included  in  the  cal- 
culations. 

The  scores  for  students  above  the  freshman  classes  are  those  made  by 
volunteers  who  came  to  the  examination.  Their  records  are  certainly  of 
some  value  but  they  do  not  necessarily  represent  a  fair  sampling.  Just  what 
the  selective  factors  were  that  brought  these  volunteers  to  take  the  test 
is  hard  to  determine,  but  the  results  must  certainly  be  considered  in  terms 
of  these  factors. 

The  major  portion  of  this  report  deals  with  the  first  semester  freshmen 
that  entered  the  University  in  January,  1921.  The  results  of  a  test  of  this 
kind  given  to  the  entering  freshmen  in  August  would  probably  be  more 
uneven  and  would  show  a  wider  dispersion  in  the  curve  of  distribution. 
Entering  freshmen  represent,  to  a  great  extent,  students  who  have  had  cer- 
tain irregularities  in  the  secondary  training,  e.g.,  they  required  an  extra 


half-year  to  complete  their  high  school  work,  or  completed  their  high  school 
work  in  three  and  a  half  years,  or  did  some  additional  work  in  high  school,  or 
started  into  a  junior  college,  etc.  Irregularities  of  this  kind  are  likely  to  lower 
the  index  of  correlation. 

SCHOLARSHIP  TOTALS 

The  records  in  the  Recorder's  Office  show  the  units  of  credit  and  the 
grades  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  sometimes  5.  Very  often  a  student  withdraws  from 
a  course  in  which  he  is  failing  and  the  grade  5  is  not  recorded  against  him. 
There  are  many  difficulties  involved  in  evaluating  a  student's  scholarship 
record.  To  have  taken  merely  the  units  of  "passing"  work  would  have 
given  too  coarse  a  score  for  correlations  with  scores  that  have  their  modal 
point  somewhere  between  65  and  80.  To  have  used  the  average  grade  would 
have  been  equally  unfair  as  a  student  may  have  had  special  ability  in  one 
course,  say  language,  and  may  have  taken  nothing  else.  After  seeking  the 
advice  of  several  educators,  it  was  decided  to  calculate  a  scholarship  total 
in  the  following  manner:  multiply  the  number  of  units  or  hours  of  grade  1 
by  9;  grade  2  by  8;  grade  3  by  7;  grade  4  by  6;  and  grade  5  by  0. 

The  scholarship  total  as  used  in  the  calculations  then  represents  the 
sum  of  the  points  obtained  from  the  above  products.  Grade  4  was  assigned 
6  points  of  value  because  it  can  be  redeemed  by  a  re-examination  or  often 
by  further  satisfactory  work  in  a  higher  course.  A  grade  of  5  or  less  never 
can  be  counted  toward  a  degree,  and  for  that  reason  has  no  (0)  value  in 
scholarship.  (There  has  been  no  statistical  equation  of  values  which  might 
be  derived  from  the  study  of  the  records  of  a  large  number  of  students,  nor 
has  there  been  any  attempt  to  weight  the  records  of  different  departments 
or  instructors.)  Doubtless  objections  can  be  found  to  this  method  of  com- 
bining quantity  and  quality  of  work,  but  for  the  purpose  of  this  experiment 
it  seemed  to  be  the  simplest  and  most  adequate  method.  The  scholarship 
total  now  represents  a  product  of  the  units  of  credit  and  the  grade.  A  special 
calculation  of  correlation  between  the  grade  average  only  and  the  test 
scores  was  also  made. 

A  case  study  of  failures  has  been  impossible  in  the  brief  time  at  the 
committee's  disposal.  All  of  the  original  test  blanks  have  been  preserved 
and  these,  with  the  instructor's  records  of  attendance,  examinations,  recita- 
tions, notebooks,  etc.,  will  be  valuable  material  for  such  studies.  The  case 
history  of  the  failures  should  be  compared  to  case  histories  of  those  who 
were  highly  successful. 

The  question  as  to  the  validity  of  college  grades  can  always  be  raised. 
The  assumption  is  that  since  college  records  as  they  now  stand  are  the  only 
measures  of  college  success  that  are  now  accepted,  they  must  be  used  as  the 
basis  of  validating  the  entrance  tests. 


GENERAL  DISTRIBUTION  CURVE  OF  ENTERING  FRESHMEN 

Thorndike  Test  Scores 

30-34  ffw 


35 
40 
45 
50 
55 
60 
65 
70 
75 
80 
85 
90 
95 
100 
105 
110 


fwwpp 

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f  f  £  f  f f www  p  p  p  p 

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f wwwww  ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 

f  f  f  f  f  WWW PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 

Iff  f ww pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 
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f  f  f  f www ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 

fwpppppppppppppppppp 

pppppppppppp 

ppppp 

p 

pp 


p  f,  failed;  w,  withdrawn;  p,  passed. 

This  curve  of  distribution  shows  the  scores  for  294  non-foreign  first 
semester  freshmen.  It  is  obvious  that  the  "failed"  and  withdrawn  students 
arrange  themselves  in  a  group  toward  the  lower  score  end  of  the  curves. 
No  student  with  a  score  of  85  or  over  either  failed  or  withdrew  from  the 
University.  Failure  throughout  this  report  means  that  the  student  was 
disqualified  by  the  Recorder's  ten  point  rule.  Each  letter  represents  a  student 
and  locates  him  in  the  score  range  given  in  the  first  column. 

DISTRIBUTION  CURVE  OF  ENTERING  FRESHMEN 

Showing  Position  of  Lowest  Quartile  according  to  Scholarship  Totals 
Thorndike  Test  Scores 

30-34 

l     l 

1 Izzxxzzz 
1     1  1  1  1  z  z  z  z 

1111111111 Izzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 


35 
40 
45 
50 
55 
60 
65 
70 
75 
80 
85 
90 
95 
100 
105 
110 


zzzzzzzzzzzz 
1  Izzz 


l,  Lowest  quartile  according  to  scholarship  totals. 
z,  Remainder  of  students,  other  three  quartiles. 


Each  letter  represents  a  student.  The  25  per  cent  of  the  records  that 
represent  the  lowest  scholarship  totals  (1)  have  been  located  in  the  Thorn- 
dike  score  distribution.  The  low  scholarship  records  arrange  themselves 
toward  the  lower  end  of  the  test  score  distributions. 


DISTRIBUTION  CURVE  OF  ENTERING  FRESHMEN 
Showing  Position  of  Highest  Quartile  according  to  Scholarship  Totals 


Thorndike 
Test  Scores 

30-34 

XX 

35 

XXX 

40 
45 

hxxxxxxxxxxx 
hxxxxxxxxx 

50 

hhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

55 

hhhxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

60 

hhhhhhhhhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

65 

hhhhhhhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

70 

hhhhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxrxxx 

75 

hhhhhhhhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

80 

hhhhhhhhhxxxxxxxxxx 

85 

hhhhhhhhhhxx 

90 

xxxxx 

95 

h 

100 

hh 

105 

110 

h 

h,  Highest  quartile  according  to  scholarship  totals. 
x,  Remainder  of  students,  other  three  quartiles. 

Each  letter  represents  a  student.  The  25  per  cent  of  the  scholarship 
records  that  represent  the  highest  totals  have  been  located  on  the  Thorndike 
test  score  distributions.  These  cases  ( h)  arrange  themselves  well  toward 
the  higher  scores. 


10 


DISTRIBUTION  TABLE  OF  SCHOLARSHIP  TOTALS 

First  Semester  Freshmen,  in  Per  Cents,  Passed  and  Failed 
Scholarship  Totals  Passed  non-foreign  Failed  non-foreign 

10-19.9  plus  2.63 

20 

30  5.26 

40  2.63 

50  7.89 

60  10.52 

70  1.275  18.41 

80  3.450  21.04 

90  5.950  5.26 

100  13.180  18.41 

110  26.775 

120  18.695  7.89 

130  16.140 

140  11.900 

150  2.125 

160  .425 

Number  of  persons  235  38 

Median  scholarship 

Total  119.5  80.75 

Scholarship  totals  mean  the  sum  of  the  points  secured  by  multiplying 
the  hours  of  credit  by  9,  8,  7,  etc.,  as  described  in  the  introduction. 

The  apparent  overlapping  is  due  to  this  method  of  calculating  scholar- 
ship totals  as  opposed  to  the  Recorder's  passed  unit  system  of  disqualification. 
In  29  per  cent  of  the  cases  there  is  absolute  agreement  in  both  methods  of 
calculation  as  to  disqualification. 


11 


DISTRIBUTION  TABLE  OF  SCHOLARSHIP  TOTALS 

First  Semester  Freshmen  in  Per  Cents,  Passed  and  Failed 

(Non-Foreign) 


Scholarship 
Totals 

Failed 
Men 

Passed 
Men 

All 
Men 

Failed 
Women 

Passed 
Women 

All 
Women 

10-19.9  + 

3.85 

.637 

20 

30 

7.69 

1.274 

40 

3.85 

.637 

50 

7.69 

1.274 

8.33 

.862 

60 

11.54 

1.911 

8.33 

.862 

70 

15.39 

1.526 

3.832 

25.00 

.962 

3.448 

80 

19.23 

3.814 

6.370 

25.00 

2.886 

5.172 

90 

6.860 

5.833 

16.67 

4.810 

6.034 

100 

23.08 

14.517 

13.925 

8.33 

11.544 

11.206 

110 

22.890 

19.110 

31.746 

28.446 

120 

7.69 

18.311 

16.562 

8.33 

18.278 

18.240 

130 

16.023 

13.377 

16.354 

14.654 

140 

11.444 

9.555 

12.506 

11.206 

150 

3.051 

2.548 

.962 

.862 

160 

.763 

.637 

Number  of 
Persons       26 

Median  Scholar- 
ship Totals  79.5 


131 
120 


157 
112.5 


12 
83.5 


104 
119.3 


116 
118 


The  median  of  the  scholarship  totals  of  these  first  semester  freshmen 
men  is  112.5,  while  that  of  the  women  (118)  is  5.5  higher.  The  range  of  dis- 
tribution of  the  men  is  wider  than  that  of  the  women,  i.e.,  the  additional 
spread  is  represented  by  2.548  per  cent  at  each  end.  Of  failed  men,  15.39 
per  cent  have  lower  records  than  any  failed  women.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
scholarship  record  of  the  men  is  much  more  irregular  than  that  of  the  women. 


12 


FIRST  SEMESTER  FRESHMEN  BY  SEXES 
Thorndike  Test  Scores  in  Per  Cents      (Non-Foreign) 


Thorndike 
Scores 

All 
Men 

Failed 
Men 

Passed 
Men 

All 
Women 

Failed 
Women 

Passed 
Women 

30-39.9  + 

4.459 

11.54 

3.052 

.862 

8.33 

40 

4.459 

7.70 

3.815 

12.930 

50.00 

8.658 

50 

21.021 

26.93 

19.878 

22.412 

16.67 

23.088 

60 

21.021 

23.07 

20.620 

31.032 

16.67 

32.078 

70 

31.213 

23.07 

32.829 

22.412 

8.33 

24.050 

80 

12.103 

3.85 

13.734 

9.482 

10.582 

90 

3.822 

4.578 

100 

1.911 

3.85 

1.526 

110 

.637 

.763 

Persons 

157 

26 

131 

116 

12 

104 

Median 

Scores 

68 

61 

70 

65 

47.5 

65 

This  table  shows  the  sex  distributions  for  the  non-foreign  group  of  first 
semester  freshmen.  All  women  with  scores  below  39.9  failed.  All  men  with 
scores  below  34.9  failed.  Of  the  men,  6.27  per  cent  made  better  scores  than 
any  woman. 

FIRST  SEMESTER  FRESHMEN 
Thorndike  Test  Scores  in  Per  Cents 


Thorndike 
Scores 

10-19.9  + 

Non-Foreign                               Foreign 

Withdrawals 

All 
.954 

Pass  Disqualified         Pass     Disqualified 

12.5         22.21 

Non-Foreign 

Foreign 

20 

1.054 

75 

30 

6.360 

1.700 

10.52       50.0 

44.42 

14.28 

25 

40 

9.222 

5.950 

21.04       37.5 

19.04 

50 

20.660 

20.250 

23.67 

22.21 

23.80 

60 

23.850 

24.930 

21.04 

11.11 

23.80 

70 

24.794 

28.330 

18.41 

14.26 

80 

9.858 

12.330 

2.63 

4.76 

90 

1.908 

2.550 

100 

.954 

.850 

2.63 

110 

.318 

.425 

Medians  in 

Scores 

64 

67 

53.5         33 

36 

59 

28 

Persons         315          235  38  8  9  21 

Every  non-foreign  student  receiving  a  Thorndike  score  of 


4 

less  than 

34.9  has  been  disqualified.  The  valuable  part  of  this  table  is  found  in  the 
first  four  columns.  The  percentages  in  the  foreign  group  are  based  on  small 
numbers  as  shown  at  the  bottom  of  the  table. 


13 


CORRELATIONS 
First  Semester  Freshmen,  Non-Foreigners 

Entire  test  and  average  scholarship  grade Pearson  .468 

Entire  test  and  scholarship  totals Spearman        .403 

Entire  test  and  scholarship  totals Pearson  .376 

Part  I1  and  scholarship  totals : Pearson  .38 

Part  I2  and  scholarship  totals , Pearson  .35 

Part  II  and  scholarship  totals Pearson  .39 

Part  III  and  scholarship  totals Pearson  .25 

Part  II  and  Part  III Pearson  .48 

The  Spearman  coefficient  of  correlation  is  also  known  as  the  Rank- 
Order  or  Difference  method  of  correlating.  The  Pearson  method  is  also  known 
as  the  Products-Moment  method. 

The  above  correlations  represent  273  cases  in  which  the  scholarship 
total  of  each  individual  was  correlated  to  his  or  her  Thorndike  test  score. 
All  of  the  correlations  are  decidedly  positive. 

NOTE:  By  a  coefficient  of  correlation  is  meant  a  number  that  indicates  the  degree  of 
agreement  or  disagreement  of  two  series  of  measures,  i.e.,  if  the  measure  of  variation  from 
a  central  tendency  in  one  series  of  measurements  is  duplicated  by  the  same  proportionate 
(  variation  from  the  central  tendency  by  the  measurement  in  the  other  series  and  this  is  con- 
'tinued  throughout  the  series,  or  if  there  is  perfect  agreement,  the  correlation  is  +1-  If  the 
variations  are  proportionate  but  in  opposite  directions,  it  is  represented  by  —1.  If  there  is 
no  agreement,  the  correlation  becomes  0.  So  all  relationships  can  be  represented  by  a  value 
between  +1  to  0  to  —  1.  Correlations  of  coefficients  from  .15  to  .20  are  considered  as  neglible, 
from  .20  to  .35  are  low,  while  from  .40  to  .60  shows  that  a  definite  correlation  exists,  and  from 
.60  to  1.00  indicate  very  high  to  perfect  correlations.  > 

FIRST  SEMESTER  FRESHMEN 

Median       Median     Number      Number 

Pr»lWp  Prrmr»«  Grade          Test  of  of  Percent 

OUP8  Total  Score         Students     Failures     Failures 

Letters  and  Sciences  113.0       64.0         146          15  10.3 

Commerce  119.5       67.0  52  8  15.4 

Mechanics  114.5       72.0  19  3  15.8 

Agriculture  110.0       66.0  14  2  14.2    ; 

Pre-Legal  159.0       78.0  14  2  14.2 

Mining  111.3       71.0  10  2  20.0 

Pre-Medical  125.5       68.0  9  1  11.1 

Chemistry  69.0       69.0  5  4  80.0 

Civil  Engineering  105.3       59.0  4  1  25.0 

In  some  of  the  colleges  there  are  not  enough  cases  to  make  the  data 
reliable,  but  the  table  does  show  the  capacity  of  the  students  entering  the 
various  types  of  work.  These  medians,  however,  are  significant  for  all  but 
the  last  three  groups.  The  first  column  shows  the  medians  for  the  groups 
in  their  scholarship  record,  while  the  second  column  shows  the  medians 
of  the  Thorndike  scores.  The  pre-legal  group  shows  both  the  highest  scholar- 
ship record  and  the  highest  score  record,  showing  them  to  be  a  decidedly 
superior  group.  This  superiority  was  shown  just  as  graphically  by  the  Thorn- 
dike  score  before  they  entered  the  classes  as  it  was  by  the  final  June  reports. 
The  Thorndike  score  justifies  the  high  scholarship  marks. 


14 


FIRST  SEMESTER  FRESHMEN     (Non-Foreign) 
Scholarship  Totals  by  Ages 

Age  Median  for  Men  Median  for  Women 

14  124.5 

16  140.8  131.0 

17  121.8  123.5 

18  122.8  117.5 

19  108.5  116.0 

20  120.3  112.5 

21  114.3  118.0 

22  105.0 

23  100.5 

24  105.5  152.0 

25  114.5 

26  103.0 

27  106.0  108.0 

28  132.0  135.0 

29  119.0 

40  96.0 

All  ages  112.5  118.0 

Spearman  correlation  between  the  median  scholarship  totals  for  each 
age  in  which  there  are  three  or  more  representatives  in  the  group,  and  the 
ages  from  youngest  to  oldest:  men,  —.369;  women,  —.657;  the  negative  corre- 
lation indicates  that  the  lower  ages  agree  with  the  higher  grade  totals,  or 
that  the  older  students  make  lower  grades. 


FIRST  SEMESTER  FRESHMEN     (Non-Foreign) 

Test  Scores  by  Ages 

Age 

Median  for  Men 

Median  for  Women 

14 

84.0 

16 

66.5 

74.0 

17 

73.5 

67.0 

18 

71.5 

64.0 

19 

63.0 

61.0 

20 

72.0 

52.0 

21 

61.5 

71.0 

22 

56.0 

23 

49.5 

24 

55.0 

85.0 

25 

74.5 

26 

51.5 

27 

68.0 

66.5 

28 

80.0 

61.0 

29 

77.0 

50 

72.0 

All  ages 

68.0 

65.0 

15 


Spearman  correlation  between  the  median  test  scores  for  each  age  in 
which  there  are  three  or  more  representatives  in  the  group,  and  the  ages 
from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest:  men,  —  .816;  women,  —  .428.  This  shows  that 
in  terms  of  the  test  the  younger  students  make  better  grades.  This  agreement 
with  the  facts  brought  out  in  the  previous  table  again  validates  the  predic- 
tive value  of  the  Thorndike  test. 

FIRST  SEMESTER  FRESHMEN     (Non-Foreign) 

High  School 

(5  or  more  representatives) 

Polytechnical,  San  Francisco 

Berkeley 

Univ.  High  School,  Oakland 

Oakland  High 

A-Z  School 

Los  Angeles  High 

Oakland  Technical 

Lowel,  San  Francisco 

Mission,  San  Francisco 

Alameda 

All  other  high  schools  of  Class  A 
having  less  than  5  representa- 
tives 59 

All  other  private  schools  of  Class 
A  having  less  than  5  repre- 
sentatives 7 

Class  B  public  5 

Non-California  high  schools        34 


Number 
Students 

Failures 

Per  Cent 
Failed 

Order  of 
Scores 

Median 
Grade 

10 

0 

0.0 

72.5 

126.5 

44 

2 

4.6 

71.0 

118.5 

9 

4 

44.4 

69.0 

105.0 

12 

0 

0 

67.5 

127.5 

12 

3  " 

25.0 

67.5 

111.5 

5 

1 

20.0 

67.0 

104.0 

34 

4 

11.7 

65.5 

114.3 

23 

2 

8.7 

65.0 

130.0 

12 

1 

8.3 

63.5 

112.7 

6 

4 

66.7 

56.0 

96.7 

13 


22.1 


0 

0 

11.7 


60 


68 
69 
61 


114 


125 
113 
115.3 


Spearman  correlation  between  median  score  and  median  grade  for  the 
above  14  groups  =  +.25092.  The  upper  group  is  arranged  in  the  order  of 
scores  fronj  highest  to  lowest.  The  Class  B  schools  are  evidently  selecting 
their  recommended  students  very  carefully. 


CONCLUSIONS 

Many  errors  no  doubt,  have  been  made  in  this  first  experiment.  This 
committee  did  not  have  full  control  of  the  situation.  The  experience  in  the 
giving  of  this  test  would  enable  us  to  do  a  much  better  piece  of  work  in  future 
experiments. 

The  comments  accompanying  the  tables  are  very  brief.  The  replies  to 
many  questions  will  be  found  in  the  various  compilations. 

If  these  tests  were  given  to  all  freshmen  and  were  used  under  the  super- 
vision of  an  expert  officer  or  committee,  the  results  would  be  of  great  service 
to  students  and  to  the  University  in  connection  with  welfare  work. 


16 


Terman,  in  School  and  Society,  April  23,  1921,  reports  correlations  for 
Thorndike  tests  averaging  .51  with  a  range  of  from  .41  to  .60.  The  correla- 
tions of  Spearman  index  +.403  and  Pearson  index  +.3764  found  here  are 
about  equal  to  those  found  elsewhere.  If  the  test  could  be  given  to  the  fresh- 
men entering  in  August,  the  correlations  would  probably  be  higher. 

The  correlations  are  high  enough  to  show  that  a  test  of  this  kind  can 
be  of  service.*  If  more  such  data  can  be  obtained  from  our  student  body, 
its  value  will  be  greatly  augmented. 

Partial  correlations  should  now  be  worked  out  and  doubtless,  a  test 
can  be  devised  that  will  take  less  time  and  will  prove  to  be  just  as  accurate 
in  determining  the  ability  of  the  student. 

The  low  scores  for  the  foreign  students  indicate  that  many  of  them  are 
so  handicapped  by  language  difficulties  that  in  terms  of  the  test  they  are  not 
fit  to  compete  with  English-speaking  students  in  our  college  work  and  that 
their  college  grades  have  often  been  given  to  them  for  apparent  effort  rather 
than  real  accomplishment.  Better  tests  of  language  ability,  which  shows 
definitely  in  a  test  of  this  kind,  can  be  of  significant  value  in  the  selection  of 
students  who  are  not  handicapped  in  this  way.  Foreign  students  probably 
need  special  coaching  classes  to  train  them  to  think  in  English  terms  and 
methods  of  study. 

These  tests  show,  in  a  purely  objective  way,  the  relative  standings  of 
students  from  various  high  schools.  These  data  may  be  of  value  to  the 
accrediting  and  college  entrance  committees. 

If  a  principal  is  in  doubt  as  to  recommending  a  graduate  to  the  University, 
a  test  of  this  kind  could  be  called  for,  and  the  University  would  thus  be  able 
to  determine  the  ability  of  students  desiring  to  enter. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  principals  should  use  tests  of  this  kind. 
If  this  is  to  be  done,  a  committee  of  the  University  should  have  charge  of 
the  tests  and  measurements  to  assure  their  being  properly  administered, 
scored,  and  evaluated. 

Scores  of  this  kind  are  comparable  with  those  of  other  institutions  in 
that  the  tests  are  standardized  and  graded  by  purely  objective  methods. 
It  is  therefore  possible  for  school  authorities  in  a  very  short  period  of  time 
to  gather  more  predictive  data  than  by  any  other  known  method. 


*Dr.  Adam  L.  Jones,  Director  of  University  Admissions,  Columbia  University,  has  given 
us  the  following  preliminary  report  of  the  use  of  the  Thorndike  college  entrance  test  in  that 
institution.  "Among  the  students  admitted  by  the  college  entrance  examinations  a  good  many 
doubtful  cases  were  included.  The  correlation  between  their  examinations  and  their  college 
records  was  plus  0.43,  which  is  reasonably  satisfactory.  The  correlation  between  high  school 
record  and  college  record  was  plus  0.45.  Those  entering  by  regents'  examinations  were  very 
carefully  selected.  The  correlation  between  their  examination  and  their  college  records  was 
plus  0.57,  while  the  correlation  between  the  psychological  examination  and  college  record 
was  plus  0.60."  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  in  the  above  institution,  the  Thorndike 
test  is  as  reliable  an  index  of  the  future  college  record  of  the  student,  as  the  college  entrance 
examinations,  regents'  examinations,  or  his  high  school  record;  and  in  all  probability  a  better 
prediction  of  his  college  record  than  any  of  these,  as  is  shown  by  the  higher  correlation  (Jour. 
Educ.  Research,  vol.  4,  no.  2,  September,  1921). 


17 


RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  sub-committee  makes  the  following  suggestions: 

That  an  officer  be  appointed,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  faculty,  to 
take  charge  of  a  bureau  or  committee  on  tests  and  student  welfare. 

This  officer  should  be  assisted  and  directed  by  a  committee  consisting 
of  representatives  of  the  faculty,  especially  those  who  have  made  a  study 
of  tests  and  social  measurements  (the  Administration,  the  President,  Deans, 
or  Recorder),  and  one  or  two  representatives  from  the  student  body. 

This  test  officer  should  be  either  a  full-time  expert  or  a  member  of  the 
faculty  who  can  devote  at  least  half  of  his  academic  service  to  this  work. 

There  would  be  need  for  secretarial  and  statistical  assistance. 

Care  should  be  exercised  in  securing  a  reliable  advisor.  The  work  re- 
quires a  special  knowledge  of  tests,  statistics,  psychology,  and  educational 
methods  as  well  as  tact  and  a  genuine  interest  in  welfare  work. 

The  test  and  welfare  committee  should  give  tests  to  every  entering 
freshman  and  should  give  especial  personal  attention  to  all  students  whose 
scores  fall  into  the  upper  and  lower  quartiles  of  the  distribution. 

Study  methods  and  plans  should  be  organized  with  a  view  to  meeting 
the  difficulties  discovered. 

Tests  for  special  abilities  should  be  made  available,  e.g.,  the  Seashore 
musical  ability  tests  for  those  who  wish  to  study  music,  tests  in  color  dis- 
crimination for  those  who  expect  to  do  blowpipe  analysis,  etc. 

A  constant  statistical  study  of  all  the  tests  should  be  made  with  a  view 
to  a  higher  correlation  with  standardizing  criteria.  Study  has  shown  that 
certain  parts  of  the  tests  are  of  more  value  than  others. 

An  analysis  of  individual  records  should  be  made  to  aid  students  with 
peculiar  powers  or  weaknesses. 

Advice  could  be  given  to  high  schools  on  the  basis  of  tests,  and  many  other 
activities  would  undoubtedly  present  themselves  as  the  work  develops. 

If  personnel,  test,  and  welfare  work  in  commercial  institutions  and 
school  systems  has  proved  valuable,  it  ought  to  be  even  more  valuable  in 
a  large  educational  institution  like  the  University  of  California,  for  in  the 
case  of  students  we  need  more  and  more  of  just  the  type  of  service  repre- 
sented in  the  highest  forms  of  test  and  personnel  work. 

If  any  of  these  suggestions  are  to  be  carried  out,  steps  should  be  taken 
immediately  to  give  a  test  to  present  freshmen,/' 


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